Reality Check: Cheap Living is Expensive!

Luckily we were able to find the equivalent size for Scotty’s aged tires at Discount Tire, where it took them less than 30 minutes to install them.

Over the past three weeks, we’ve had some real ups and downs, which at times has made me wonder (again) what on Earth we’re doing living in this tiny metal box. The things that I worried myself silly over (like getting new tires) turned out to be easy. The things that I thought would be easy (like using the campground’s wi-fi) turned out to be so difficult I wanted to scream. Actually, I think I did scream.

The KOA North Nashville is a great place. The staff is super friendly and helpful, the location is perfect, and the amenities are terrific when you can use them. They take some pretty good precautions to keep people from hogging the internet (like limited codes and speed throttling) but that doesn’t stop the more savvy RVers (ourselves not yet included) from being able to get around them and watch Netflix all day long. Since I still have to work, I need the internet to operate reasonably well and that just doesn’t happen when the enabled devices on the network include a half dozen Roku boxes.

One day we decided to go to the library. It was closed. So we went to the food court in the mall instead. Their wi-fi was out. Oy!

A few of our neighbors at the KOA. We felt even tinier sitting next to these big rigs.

We do have two internet hotspot devices. One operates on the Sprint network, the other on AT&T, but I try to limit their usage to just places where wi-fi is not available. I didn’t think the KOA was going to be one of those places. In all, we spent about $75 on internet data in July – not including our cell phones. That’s a bit more than I planned but then again, almost all of our expenses in July were more than I planned. For anyone thinking of full-time RVing, I would say this: the first few months are expensive so plan accordingly. Between necessary upgrades, repairs, supplies, campground stays, and general living expenses, we’ve spent nearly $5,500 in our first two months. We’re CHEAP so realizing we’d spent that much money was a shock (and another of those moments when you reconsider what you’re doing).

On Sunday, after filling up on pancakes and clearing our heads with coffee, we had the dreaded budget meeting. With Excel spreadsheet in hand, we went through each and every category and came to some very interesting conclusions.

We paid $69 more per week to stay at the KOA over a nearby state park simply because it offered free wi-fi.

We are paying approximately $15 per GB of hotspot data on Sprint and $10 on AT&T.

Our grocery and household expenses cost three times as much as they ever did in our apartment.

Campground fees in July were no cheaper than our previous rent.

Gas was way less than we expected, considering we went on several 100+ mile day trips. (I threw that in lest you think it was all negative.)

For the month of August, we’re implementing a few cost cutting measures to ensure the long-term sustainability of this adventure.

We’ve set a cap on campground fees – no more than $25 per day.

We have two library days planned into the calendar each week to cut down on data usage and we’ve decided to skip using the more expensive Sprint hotspot, except in the case of an emergency. We also turned off all of the apps on my computer and set the hotspot usage to metered. This is supposed to reduce data usage as well.

We will get back on track with meal planning and shopping will be done once a week from a list (just like when we lived in a regular home).

There will be no “looking around” in Walmart. Though we’re not spendthrifts, we always seem to find things that we don’t really need but would make life in the RV more organized, easier, etc. when we just kill time in Walmart.

I sincerely hope that August is a more normal month as far as expenses go. Knock on wood – we should not have any more repairs left to do so perhaps we can focus on the more fun parts of this adventure.

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2 thoughts on “Reality Check: Cheap Living is Expensive!”

I’m not sure how long you want to stay in one place, I’ve only read a couple of your posts so far, but staying monthly is a whole heck of a lot cheaper than daily or weekly. (One of my favorite places in Florida-Twin Rivers RV Park in Hobe Sound was $208/wk or $600/month. Abe’s RV Park in Oklahoma City was $200/wk or $425/month. Candlestick RV Park in San Francisco is $600/wk and $1500/month. These might’ve changed slightly but those are a few that came to mind.) Also, make sure you find parks where electric is included.
As far as wifi goes, Technomadia recently posted about some sort of MiFi they came across that sounded like a good deal. In my experience the campground wifi is usually garbage so I try to update apps whenever we are around free wifi (Lowe’s, McDonald’s, etc.)
With groceries, I have to make a list and only go to the store once a week, otherwise our grocery bill gets outrageous! I always try to have easy, quick to make things when we travel. Leftovers are good, sandwiches, frozen pizza… That definitely saves money on the road. Other than that, whenever I make something in the crock pot, I’ll make a lot and freeze half of it for later (chili, soup, gumbo…) Also sometimes I can find good deals at Farmers Markets depending on what part of the country we are in.
Just some thoughts! I look forward to reading more of your blog!